Community Grants Budget Commissioning
Grant Criteria for providing Volunteer Support and Voluntary and Community
Sector Development
(01/10/15 – 31/03/2019)
Purpose of Grant:
To contribute towards the costs of providing a Volunteer
Support and Voluntary and Community Sector Development
Service for all voluntary and community groups working in the
Borough of Ealing. Only one grant will be made for this service
although applications from consortia will be considered.
LBE Grant Award:
Subject to budget provision from 01/10/15 up to 31/03/16 up
to £40,000; and £80,000 for each financial year for the
period 2016/17 to 2018/19.
Section 1 – Context of Funding
1.1
Ealing Council wishes to assist voluntary and community organisations (not
conducted for profit) by supporting them financially in their work. The Council
will work with organisations and groups to enable local people to have greater
access to and participation in activities and services, so improving the quality
of life and sustainability of their local communities.
1.2
The purpose of grant funding is to support initiatives that meet the Council’s
grant giving criteria thus enabling the provision of activities and services (but
not to meet all the costs).
1.3
This criteria is based on the consultation on grant priorities undertaken with
voluntary and community organisations published in November 2014.
1.4 In making decisions on grant funding, the Council will consider the extent to
which applicants meet the criteria and conditions set out in sections 2 – 4
below and these will be assessed in accordance with the following scoring
methodology:

Provides relevant activities / services as required by the grants criteria
(up to 20 points)

Meets Needs / Outcomes (up to 20 points)

Track record, capacity, expertise and knowledge and quality
assurance to deliver the relevant activities / services (up to 20 points)

Provides value for money (up to 10 points)

Commitment to access additional funding streams (up to 10 points)

Promotes community cohesion, equality and diversity and social
inclusion (up to 10 points)

1.5
Commitment to explore joint working with other organisations (up to
10 points).
The applicant that receives the highest score will be awarded the grant and
this score must be at least 70%. Applications scoring less than 70% will not be
awarded a grant.
Section 2 – Activities Sought
2.1
The applicant will demonstrate how they will provide dedicated and accessible
services to specific community and voluntary groups and for the community
and voluntary sector in Ealing as a whole. Council funding will specifically
support the following three activities:

Contribute towards the costs of providing volunteering services.

Contribute to training programmes for local VCS groups and
information, advice and support workshops and other events.

Contribute to the costs of providing funding advice; with
associated capacity building and development support to local VCS
groups.
2.2
The Council will expect this commitment to core support to be used as a
sustainable base to attract additional external funding to provide further VCS
support services associated with these three activities, as set out in 2.3 below.
2.3
The priorities for the three activities should be ascertained by an Annual Survey
of Ealing based VCS organisations from 2016/17 and beyond. It is expected
that the following elements will form part of the three activities:

Promote active citizenship and volunteering by:

T h e applicant should meet national core volunteering
standards (e.g.: Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation (VCQA))

D e l i v e r against the five core functions of a volunteer centre’s
work
1. Strategic Development of Volunteering – through engagement with the
VCS sector and beyond to ensure a healthy environment in which
volunteering can occur.
2. Good Practice Development – to ensure that all organisations engaging
volunteers improve and attain positive consistency across their
volunteering programmes. Providing information, advice, support,
training and good practice to local organizations on managing,
supporting and developing volunteer skills
3. Developing Volunteering Opportunities – to increase the quantity,
quality and diversity of volunteering across Ealing. This will include:

developing joint volunteering programmes with strategic local
partners such as LBE, the Police, Ealing Hospital, Ealing GP
Consortium and other public sector partners.

Developing specific programmes and volunteering opportunities
for communities currently under-represented in volunteering
programmes, or where specific requirements need to be
developed; this could include young people, those with disabilities,
from faith communities etc.
4. Voice of Volunteering – to increase awareness of issues impacting on
volunteers
5. Brokerage – to ensure that effective and efficient matching services are
in place for both individuals and groups interested in volunteering with
appropriate volunteering opportunities:


Providing advice, information and support to local people on
volunteering opportunities (using a variety of media);

Recruiting, selecting, and supporting volunteers for placement
with local voluntary organizations;
Responding to the needs of, and developing, local VCS
organisations by providing to organisations training activities that
help to raise and set standards by:

Promoting and advising on quality assurance measures appropriate
for VCS organisations;

Advising on
organisations;

Promoting and advising on national best practice models that can
be applied at local level.

Securing accreditation and delivering training programmes for local
voluntary organizations staff, volunteers and trustees leading to
recognized professional qualifications.

Information, advice, support and training on capacity building,
organisational development and financial management;

Information, advice, support and training for staff, volunteers and
trustees;

Information, advice, support and training on IT;
appropriate
performance
indicators
for
VCS


D u e consideration should be given to training available
elsewhere and in a variety of formats (including e-learning and
virtual training environments), to avoid duplication – sign-posting
to these resources and maximising take-up where practicable. It is
acknowledged that costs, availability (demand), and accessibility
issues may require local training programmes to be run.
Deliver funding advice; with associated capacity building and
development support to local VCS groups:

Jointly author and be responsible for the delivery of the ECN/LBE Joint
Funding Strategy – which sets priority areas for support;

Information, advice, support and training on funding opportunities and
funding applications;

Support for strategic sector funding opportunities;

Provide a brokerage role with other sector leads (e.g. Council, CCG)
where such partnerships are required by funders;

Assistance with the development of partnership and/or consortium or
other vehicle best suited for delivery;

Help to innovate and drive new methods of working to best assist local
VCS to secure funding;

Lobbying and acting as a voice for the sector in strategic
funding discussions.
Section 3 – Specific Criteria
3.1
The Council will assess:

Number of groups surveyed for an Annual Needs Assessment for the
three activities;

Number of local residents receiving advice and support on volunteering;

Number of monitored volunteering placements;

Number of specific volunteering opportunities for identified target groups
(e.g. young people);

Number of organisations using volunteers that receive good
practice support and training.

Number of groups supported to achieve accredited quality systems;

Number of groups attending VCS training or advice sessions;

Number of sessions of individual support to voluntary and
community groups;

Number of groups receiving training on funding / funding application
or receiving advice sessions;

Number of groups, or partnerships, assisted with fundraising bids;

Total amount of external funding secured per year on behalf of
local groups;
In addition the applicant will submit with their application:

A service development plan based on these criteria covering the
period 2015/16-2018/19.

Details of quality assurance measures. Applicants must have, or be
actively working towards one or more of: Investing in People, Investing in
Volunteers, Volunteer England Accreditation on Volunteering,
NAVCA Core Standards.

A statement outlining the standards that users and stakeholders can
expect.

Their written policies and procedures with regard to the operation of
the service
including
financial
management,
equal
opportunities, and confidentiality guidelines.

Their complaints procedure.

Details of promoting services to equality groups.

Details on promoting
opportunities.

How information will be communicated effectively and take into account the
needs of people (and organisations) accessing the service including: needs
arising from age, disability, gender, ethnicity, language, culture, literacy, sexual
orientation and gender reassignment.

Details of how they will obtain customer feedback and consult users
on improving community and voluntary services covered by this
commission.

Details of how the applicant will work with the successful applicant for the
neighbourhood and community development grant.
volunteering
and
developing
new
volunteering
Section 4 – Outcomes Required for Continued Grant Funding
4.1
The applicant will deliver and demonstrate:

A programme of activity which responds to locally identified need;

An increase in the number, quality and effective use of volunteers
in Ealing;

An increase in the skills, knowledge, financial, governance and service
delivery competence of community and voluntary organisations in Ealing;

Success in a range
VCS Organisations.
of
funding
proposals
achieved
by
local
Section 5 – Monitoring and provision of Information
5.0
The grant recipient will provide 6 monthly up-dates and monitoring reports
each year to the Council’s Corporate Head of Policy based on sections 3 and
4 above.